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Is AT&T/Time Warner a Bad Deal? Or Getting a Bad Deal?

News broke on November 8 that the Department of Justice is seeking to alter, if not block, AT&T’s proposed purchase of Time Warner. What until recently had seemed like a done deal is now up in the air. And different narratives are emerging. Did the DOJ request AT&T sell off Time Warner's CNN in order to approve the deal? Is the DOJ responding to President Donald Trump’s many complaints about CNN, essentially punishing a news organization for unfavorable coverage? Or is the DOJ seeking to enforce populist antitrust policy, something promised by Trump during the Presidential campaign? While preventing the deal is aligned with the public interest community, the unclear motivations are heightening concerns over what may be the government's actions catching up with Trump’s rhetoric.